Doctor Who: The Return Of UNIT
by Jetplague
Summary: The Tenth Regeneration Adventures - 8 - The Doctor goes to London in the year 2020 after learning of a temporal incursion invovling the rebirth of UNIT. But has he become their target instead?
1. Default Chapter

Doctor Who: The Return Of U.N.I.T.

The Tenth Regeneration Adventures

By Jeff Walker

London, England – 2020

As the cityscape is blanketed by the starry night, deep within the streets of London, a sleek black car is racing past the rest of the traffic. All the cars are of the current designs for the time, even this black car seems stylish for it's day. Swerving in and out dangerously, the car quickly turns a corner as it screeches it wheels and heads down a new street beyond the main traffic. The man inside is Caucasian and wearing a black out fit that looks more like a uniform. Breathing heavily the man looks in his rear view mirror and is sweating profusely. He soon attaches a micro-headset to his ear and turns it on by pressing the tiny button on the side of it.

"Telecom link up! Send to addy Zoomer One" The British man utters to it.

The device begins a squelch of noise and soon begins a dial tone to the contact he instructed it to connect too.

"Come on…Come on answer…" He nervously says, as he keeps looking his rear view mirror.

The black dressed man seems young in appearance, mid-twenties to early thirties, his hair is cut short and black in color. His erratic driving continues as he swerves to miss cars in his path and pedestrians trying to cross the streets. Turning the car down a new path again, the man suddenly hears the micro-headset phone connect.

"Occupant not replying…please leave a message." The automated Telecom female voice replies.

"Begin message." The man shouts. "This is agent Bosworth! I've been discovered…repeat…I have been discovered…all our fears have been confirmed ZoomerOne. Will report findings to you when we meet at the location of pick up."

As he turns the car yet again down a long dark alleyway, a pair of lights quickly turns on in front of him and causes him to stop immediately. Gasping at the sight, the man sets the car in reverse and tries to leave the dark ally. But as he tries to leave, another car enters blocks the only way out. The frightened man stops again and looks at both vehicles heading towards him slowly. Setting the car in park, the young man hears the occupants getting out of their cars and the sound of their feet walking over to him. Bosworth picks up a weapon beside him and darts out of the car. Trying to run, the man is soon intercepted by others dressed in similar clothes as him.

"That's far enough Bosworth!" The other man says as he points his odd looking weapon at him.

Bosworth continues to breathe heavily and looks at the group beginning to surround him.

"Look…I…didn't see anything. Honest…I just want out guys. Please! I've got a wife and kid at home…"

"You know the rules, Bos. Nobody just leaves the organization." The man states in a cold fashion.

Horror flashes across the young man's eyes and he soon screams as he tries to shoot at the men taking aim at him. In a flurry of strange green energy blasts from the dark weapons, the group manages to vaporize the man in the matter of seconds. The only thing that drops to the ground unaffected is his suit and the miniature phone that was still attached to his ear. The dark uniformed men gather over the remains and tap their feet at the smoking clothes.

"Mission complete, Sir." The Afro-British man says into his micro-headset phone. "The target is eliminated."

"Good." A gruff male voice replies back. "Return to base."

"Rodger that sir."

Looking back down at the uniform, the lead attacker reaches over and grabs the suit as it still smokes in his hands. He looks at it carefully and reveals the logo attached to the suit. The logo is an updated symbol of U.N.I.T., the former military section devoted to extra-terrestrial investigations.

••••••••••••••••••••••••

The Planet of Galifrey.

The Doctor, having recovered from his ordeal with the Infinite Guardian (- See Regenerative Crisis), sits with the Lord President of Galifrey in the presidential office as the two argue about his current human companions.

"Doctor…you know we cannot allow those two to be taken out of time." Lord President Devendari sighs.

"We've been through a lot together…perhaps not Megan as such, but Andrea means the world to me. Can't I just bend the rules this one time?"

"You've been bending, breaking and leaping over them for sometime Doctor. But times have changed here. We're trying to return to governing the space-time continuum as we once did. Megan was not meant to survive the Cybermen attack, her body was to be recovered from the debris field and her name was to be the one that was used on the vessel that saves the human refugees on Proxima Six. It was a key moment in the human history…one that brought peace to their species future colony wars."

"I know…I know…" The Doctor rubs his head in frustration. "I didn't think of it at the time, alright. But I can't just send this poor girl back to die! That's immoral…its barbaric…"

"It's how it must be, Doctor."

"What of Andrea?" The Doctor soon adds. "Why must she be returned to the moment I met her?"

"Again, you know why." Devendari says rubbing his bridge of his nose in fatigue. "She was to be victim like the others of that small human community. This must not change."

"I beg to differ." The Doctor demands as he slams his fist on the table. "These are lives we're talking about here…this is why I loathed our role in the universe. Instead of helping the innocent we're killing them! And why? Just to make sure the time stream remains all comfy cozy? I refuse to do what you ask!"

The Galifreian President stands out of his chair and walks around the long black marbled table he was sitting behind. He casually walks over to the frustrated Timelord and sits on the edge of the table too give him a more personable chat.

"Look Doctor…I know that you are very attached to the humans. And that being the former Lord President of Galifrey you have certain rights to whom you travel with…but for the sake of history…we must not change it's course to suit our own purpose. We've neglected our roles for far too long and its time to bring the flow of time back to a proper balance."

The Doctor rises out of his seat and paces the regal looking office. Gold and red are the colors that fill the room; the symbol of Rassilon over looks the room from above the massive golden doors and reminds the Doctor of whom and where he belongs. Giving a sigh and folding his arms over each other, the Timelord turns around and looks at the president with a heavy heart.

"Very well. I will do as you ask…but I want to do it myself. I brought them with me…I'll take them back to where they belong."

The President eyes him carefully. "Don't deceive me Doctor, are you telling the truth? Or shall I have to use the Mind Probe to make sure of your statement."

"You have my word, Lord President." The Doctor breathes out as he straightens his posture. "I will take them back."

The Galifriean President nods at his word and returns to sit behind his long back table. Touching a small golden symbol embedded on the marble top, a visual image appears above the tabletop. The holographic image is that of Earth; a small green triangle appears on the globe and begins flashing as it zooms over to one of the continents.

"Now then, I have a request to make of you Doctor. For that is the original reason we wanted to meet with you before all this took place."

"Meet with me? Why what for?"

"I'm about to show you something that has the Time Council very concerned. There's something happening on Earth that has caught our attention, a temporal energy signature, something that should not be happening in this timeframe of human history. We'd like for you to go to the planet and investigate the matter."

The Doctor returns to his seat and looks at the image.

"You're giving me an assignment? I'm not one of your researchers…I'm retired. And I'm not for hire you know?"

"Yes, we know you prefer to roam the cosmos at your leisure. But this latest incursion in the Time Continuum must not be allowed. Since you have greater knowledge of humans, their history and of their many customs…we've decided to let you investigate this matter for us. Please Doctor…we need your experience on this situation."

Peering at the location, the Doctor tries to see which area it's in.

"Oh? That desperate are we? I suppose I am the most qualified to interact with the humans and more tolerant of their behavior. Hmmm…looks like it's coming from the North Eastern hemisphere…centered in the heart of England I would say. Or rather London to be more accurate. What's the year you found this at?"

"The Earth calendar date is May 16th, 2020." The President states as he changes the holographic image.

The next one to appear is of a symbol the Doctor is all too familiar with. A slightly more updated looking symbol then he had seen before in his previous Regenerations, but one that still is recognizable to him just the same.

"Do you know this icon? It has something to do with this time period." The President asks.

"UNIT?" The Doctor mutters with curiosity. "That can't be right. I thought UNIT was dissolved by this period of time? What is this all about?"

Turning off the image, Devendari clasps his hands together and rests his chin on them.

"I was hoping you could tell us. Or rather…find out for us. It seems that there is a temporal anomaly occurring at this point in time and at that region of the planet. This icon was found a few times in the planet's history where is should never have been at all, those Timelords trying to fix the time stream discovered it and traced its temporal coding. It matches to this time date and of this origin."

"Really. Well, well, well….someone has been rather busy haven't they?" The Doctor says raising his eyebrows with interest. "Alright, I'll look into this little mystery of yours…but with one condition."

Devendari leans back in his chair as he waits to hear what the term is.

"I keep my two companions…for now. I'll need their help to assist me in my investigation. Then after it's done, I'll return them to their proper place and time. Deal?"

Mulling over the Timelord's purposely, he shakes his head negatively and taps his index finger on the table as his doubts come to light.

"I think it would be better to bring them back here, Doctor. We should be the ones to return them to their places of origin and clear their minds of all prior events. Besides…you have a habit of giving the Council false promises…how can I trust you?"

"Trust me Devendari, once my mission is done I'll send you a report from the TARDIS. You can even send me the co-ordinates to put them back in the proper places. That way you'll know exactly where I am and have a clear visual of me to make certain I'm not doing anything with the controls as I talk to you. Now…does that sound more reasonable to you?" The Doctor grins as he rises out of his seat and holds out his hand.

The Lord President nods in agreement and rises out of his chair.

"Very well. You make keep them for this one matter only Doctor, if you try to keep them out of time, we will bring you back and have you grounded here permanently."

The Doctor shakes his hand as he nearly leaps over the table to do it. With a smile on his face, the Doctor gives him a quick wink and lets go of his hand.

"I wouldn't dare dream of disappointing you, Lord President."

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Back on Earth, the UNIT officers return to a tall black building with no windows, the solid looking structure has only a few tinted glass doors at it's base and a open underground garage where the UNIT cars drive down into. It's located in the heart of the city and gives no sign of it being of military property. No guards are visible, no barriers to separated from the other surrounding skyscrapers, it just remains there as part of the rest of London's cityscape.

As they later walk down through the bleak grey halls within the building, the group now consisting of three come to the end of it and stand in front of a polish sliver door with a security camera hanging over it.

"Identify." The monotone computer voice asks.

"Deacon…665…" The Afro-British officer states.

The door slides open and allows them to walk inside. Another long corridor brings them to another set of doors, a black set with sliver door handles. As they walk up to them, the doors swing open again and this time they enter the final room. The entire place is grey and black, light sources along the wall show alien looking gadgets and technologies incased in glass. Deacon stands at the foot of the table were someone sits with the back of his dark grey chair facing them.

"What's our next assignment sir?" He asks.

Spinning around to face them, a balding Caucasian man of middle age glances at them as places an electronic pad on the table. The bulky looking gentlemen is wearing a dark suit with a green shirt and tie, his face has a trimmed mustache and goatee that gives him a rather stoic look.

"Get your men ready for this, I want to get hold of this man at any cost. He should be arriving in London very shortly."

"Yes sir." Deacon smiles. "Who's the target?"

The man in the chair activates the electronic pad and shows the UNIT officer the person he's to look for.

"He doesn't really have a name…he only he calls himself… the Doctor."


	2. Chapter 2

Back on Galifrey, in the open gardened grounds where the TARDIS sits, Andrea and Megan stand near the Timelord craft with wandering eyes. The tranquil setting seems rather ancient and mythical to them, detailed carvings engraved in the surrounding stonewalls shows the symbols of the Galifreian language.

"I wonder if we'll be allowed to live?" Megan suddenly thinks aloud.

Andrea gives a confused look and snickers at the woman's sense of doom.

"What? Why wouldn't they? Come on, I think you're being a bit down here…the Doctor won't let anything happen to either one of us."

"How do you know?"

"I just do, ok?"Andrea says raising her head with assurance. "He's someone that's always there for you. A man of honor and integrity…someone who'd do anything to be with you."

Megan looks at the other companion with a raised eyebrow and gives a coy response.

"Oh my god. You're in love with him, aren't you?"

Andrea just lowers her head and fiddles with her nails, as she doesn't respond to Megan's observation.

"That's it…you fancy the Doctor!"

"So what if I do? I've been with him for a while now…we've done and seen things together you couldn't possibly understand. You get to know someone who's been with you through near death experiences."

"Bullshit." Megan laughs. "Do you even really know him at all?"

"A lot more then you Megan." The angry young blonde woman snarls back. "The Doctor cares about me…he cares deeply. I see it in his eyes everyday and…what are you smiling about?"

Megan chuckles as she paces about with her arms folded and still giving the smile at Andrea's reaction.

"I'm smiling because you're so blind to your own feelings about him. The Doctor may care about you Andrea, but I'm sure he cares about everyone in general. From what I've seen of him and his race on Galifrey, it's more like time and space is on their brains rather then physical love."

"I'm not talking about physical love!" Andrea growls at her. "Sex isn't the issue…I mean of a bond between two people, love is much more then just going at it with one another you know. There's a spark between us…something that goes beyond physicality."

Megan sighs and shrugs her shoulders. "If you say so. I've never had time for that sort of relationship. The Cybermen wars took much of our time away from bonding too close to anyone. Half the time the person you'd get to know would end up dead on a mission or during an attack."

Andrea began to lower her defensive posture and looked back at Megan with pity.

"Sorry…I didn't know you guys had it that bad. But…what did you do about…well…you know…special needs?"

"Sex?" Megan glanced at her as she translated her meaning. "We just did it. Sometimes you've got to get that out of the way so you can focus on your job. If you thought the guy or girl was appealing, you take care of the urge right away."

"Are you kidding me?" Andrea gawks with an open mouth.

"Why waste time dancing around the issue? We're only human…and its all part of the natural process. A few moments of your time and its over. Its all you really need."

Andrea still stood there shocked at Megan's blunt explanation. And here she thought Megan was being a prude about love, it seems that Megan has never had a deep relationship with anyone in her life. Just a quick fix and back to being a soldier. Now Andrea really pitied her.

The Doctor suddenly appeared in the gardens and rushed over to the two women hanging around the TARDIS. His pace was rather lively and began searching his pockets for the key to his craft. Andrea's eyes lit up with joy as she saw him coming and Megan raised her arms up at him as if he had been taking forever to show up.

"Sorry ladies…are we ready to go?" The Timelord cheerfully says.

"Wait a second Doctor!" Megan howls as she stands in his way. "What about the Timelords sending us back. I thought we weren't supposed to be allowed to go with you?"

The Doctor gave a joyful sound of glee as he found the key in his multi-colored vest pocket and stared at Megan with intensity.

"Why? Do you want to go back and not exist? I could run right back and tell them to forget it?"

Megan quickly shook her head. "No, No! I'm just shocked that they would let us go. That's all…really."

"Don't worry about it Megan." The Doctor giggles as he pats her on the head like a child. "I wouldn't dare let anything happen to either one of you. Now come on, we've been given an assignment…tally ho!"

As the quirky man unlocked the TARDIS's door and stepped in, Andrea walked over to the craft with a very smug look as she stared at Megan. The brunette woman just watched her friend waltz in casually and shook her head. She hated the fact that Andrea was right about the Doctor finding a way to spare their lives.

"Ah well, what could be worst I wonder? Cybermen trying to kill me or Andrea's faith in the Doctor. Tally ho indeed."

She followed the others and stepped into the TARDIS and closed the door behind her. The light above the blue police box began to flash and the whooshing sound of the TARDIS began as it dematerialized into the fabric of space-time.

•••••••••••••••••••••••

Inside the perforated white walls of the timelord craft, the three travelers stand around the octagonal shaped console of the TARDIS and watch the Doctor fiddle with the various controls.

"Where are we going now?" Andrea asks.

"Earth." The Doctor states.

"Really?" Megan says with delight. "My Earth or her Earth?"

"I'm sorry is there a difference?"

"Uh…well, no. I mean yes…." Megan tries to explain. "Maybe I should put it another way…in which time era are we going to Earth?"

The Doctor makes a final tap of the controls and looks up at the two staring at him in suspense.

"Early 21st Century." He says with a smile and places his hands behind his back.

"Great!" Andrea squeals. "Looks like we're heading back to my time."

The Doctor shakes his head negatively.

"Think again. We are infact going to London, in the year 2020."

"Damn." Andrea pouts.

"Why there Doctor?" Megan asks.

The oddly dressed man heads over to the door leading deeper into the TARDIS and turns back to explain before he steps though.

"We've officially become investigators of a temporal occurrence. The Timelords need us to find out going on there and why. So don't think that this is yet another holiday for you Andrea…no more sunny beaches and purple nebula drinks."

A quick wink to her and a beaming smile, the Doctor steps through the door and leaves the room. Andrea gives a blushing smile as his gesture makes her giggle at his strangeness. Megan looks at the woman's reaction and rolls her eyes in disgust.

"Oh please say you won't be doing that the entire time?"

"What do you mean?" Andrea frowns.

"You know…'oh doctor…oooo tee-hee'…ugh!" Megan mocks to Andrea. "Makes me want to vomit."

"Bite me, Megan!"

The two women give each other a stern look and separate across the room. Both need time to cool off from the verbal slings and wait for the Doctor to return.

••••••••••••••••

London, 2020.

The TARDIS soon materializes near the London Bridge and the flashing light at the top soon stops. The bleak weather of the midday gives an air of gloom as the two companions step out. Andrea has kept her white starry hat on, but changed her clothes slightly. A nice blue denim jacket keeps her warm as the cool air rushes past and faded blue jeans keep her legs equally warm. Megan also sports a jacket, a quarter length one of tanned leather; her shoes are simple white runners and has pulled her hair back into a ponytail.

As they both move away from the TARDIS and gaze at the city, the Doctor comes out of the ship and locks the door with his key. Placing it back in his pocket, both women suddenly notice his new outfit he has on.

"Oh Doctor!" Andrea starts to laugh hysterically.

"What?" He wonders as he looks at himself.

Gone are his wild clothes, a pair of brown hikers, black slacks and a cotton plaid-blue shirt now compliments his physique. A very worn quarter length leather jacket in dark brown is part of his ensemble with a large red question mark pin attached to the lapel of his coat. He adjusts his grey belt with a silver buckle and looks at the two girls giggling at him for some reason.

"What? What is it?" He continues to ask. "Do you not like it?"

Andrea calms down as she suddenly draws breathe to answer him.

"No, it's not that. It's just…we've never seen you looking like this. You look so…un-Doctor-ish."

"Well thank you!" The timelord grumbles as he walks ahead of them. "I'll have you know I was looking pretty sharp in my last Regeneration. I admit the leather jacket was a stretch for me back then…but I've grown fond of the look. So pardon me if I'm getting a tad sentimental."

"Leather though, Doc?" Megan continues to snicker. "I think I prefer you sticking out like a sore thumb then being one of the crowd. Gives you an air of mystery. Now you just look plain."

"Critics." The Doctor grumbles. "Try to keep up with me ladies…I'd hate for you to get lost and not find me in the crowd."

The two women continue to snicker behind his back as they can feel he's not happy with their teasing. The three walk over the bridge and deeper into the city. A darkly dressed man steps out from a building near by and eyes both the TARDIS and the Doctor crossing the bridge. Placing his hand to his ear, he activates the small phone and walks over to the TARDIS.

"This is team one. Target has been spotted and making his way in, over."

"Rodger that." The male sounding voice replies back to him on the headset. "Proceed with the next phase."

"Rodger command. Team one out."

The Caucasian man looks back at the building he came from and signals the other similar dress figures gazing out from inside. A simple nod of his head makes them all come out and a truck appears from around the corner backing up towards the TARDIS. The group surrounds the craft and latch on cable wires and wait for the dark green vehicle to stop near them. A large crane is exposed as they remove the camouflage tarp covering it and maneuver the crane to pick up the Timelord craft.

"Hurry up!" The Caucasian man yells at the group. "The brigadier is waiting for this!"

As they finish hooking the TARDIS to the crane, the man nods again to the operator and begins lifting it up and onto its backload. When it finally sits onto the truck, the man gives a simple smirk and eyes the prize they've just taken.

"That's one down…one more to go."

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

The busy streets of downtown London fill the air of noise and people talking. The Doctor, Megan and Andrea walk briskly through the crowds as they continue to go deeper inward. The Doctor takes out a strange looking device from his side coat pocket and holds it in front of himself tapping on the buttons. Andrea is shocked he would just bring it out in broad daylight and tries to lower it away from view.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" She says sternly.

"What?" He asks.

"You can't use that now! People might wonder what it is?"

"Andrea." The Doctor says bringing it back up. "This is the 21st Century. There are all sorts of strange devices, iPods, knick-knacks, electric hullabaloos of every design and function. I highly doubt anyone is going to come up and marvel at my 'technological oddity' and shout alien. Relax…this isn't the 18th Century. No one gives a monkey's behind about what I'm doing."

Hearing the Doctor speak to her in that tone took Andrea back for a second. It had been the first time in a long while he talked down to her in that manner. As he walked ahead checking the small device, Andrea held back Megan and gave her a look of concern.

"Do you think he's ok?"

Megan gave her a confused look now. "What? What's wrong with him?"

"I dunno." Andrea shrugs. "He's just so…different."

"Different?"

Megan looks back at the Doctor as he continues to point his device in every direction. An old lady tries to walk past the Doctor and soon finds him scanning her and looking deep into her eyes. With a simple poke of his finger, the woman gazes at him as if he's insane and shakes her head as he smiles and allows her to pass by.

"Uh…look." Megan says scratching her head. "I don't know him as well as you…but I think that would be as normal as he gets."

"Yeah, I guess." Andrea ponders. "Maybe it's just me then. I guess having a near death experience has made him a bit out of whack."

"Hurry up you two! I've got something!" The Doctor shows back at them waving the device.

Megan and Andrea give a sigh and rush over to him.

"What's that red flashing?" Andrea says as she points at his hand held scanner.

"That…is a clue." The Doctor says as he smiles and raises his eyebrows. "Not too far from here, an ionization localized in a back alley. Looks like our mystery begins there."

The group walks together as they dart down the back streets of London, follow his lead they look around the various directions and keep an eye out for anything out of the ordinary. As they turn down the next lane, they find the back alley the signal has been coming from. The narrow path seems dark and ominous, the tall buildings obscure most of the light from the narrow alley, and suddenly Megan and Andrea get the impression that this is not the best place to be right now.

"Are you sure this is it Doctor?" Megan now says nervously. "I mean…maybe we could come back later…when the sun is out."

"What's a matter? Afraid of a few shadows are we?" The Doctor scoffs as he hunches lower to the ground. "To think…the world was on the bring of destruction from Cybermen. Laser fire, impaled bodies on hot metal, and a bridge on fire. My dear girl…I would think a few shadows are nothing to what you've seen. Tell you what…"

The Doctor erects himself and takes out a crumpled small papery bag from his coat pocket. Opening it up, he hands it over to her and makes a gesture.

"Here…take one of these. It's good for calming the senses."

"What are they?" She inquires as she lifts one out.

"The greatest cure for the willies. Jelly babies. Don't leave the TARDIS without them."

His attempt at humor was not lost on either woman; both snickered at his crazy antics and reached in for one of his gummy treats. Before he placed the bag back inside his pocket, he snared one for himself and crouched back down at the ground with his device. The Timelord chewed away as he watched the instrument zero in and finally revealed the spot he was looking for. Switching the device off and grabbing a small silver pen from his pant's pocket, he scrapes some of the ground with it and inspects the black residue covering the pen tip.

"Interesting." The Doctor mutters quietly to himself as he finishes swallowing the rest of his jelly baby.

Andrea looks down at the Timelord's discovery and peers at it with equal interest.

"Found something have you?" She asks.

Megan walks away from the two and continues to chew on her jelly baby as she looks about rather nervous. The Doctor rises up and touches the sample with his fingers. Rubbing the grime between them and giving it a quick sniff. He looks at the dirty fingers and becomes lost in thought.

"How odd. Particle degeneration? Or some sort of bio-electrical impulse resin?"

Andrea just continued to stare at his fingertips and wondered what it is he was talking about. Her police instinct was starting to kick in again; being away from her career had made her long to return to being a Canadian officer. She always found forensics fascinating, if only she had studied more about it, she might have been gone on to be in that area of expertise. But being so young and idealistic, she neglected certain criteria and wound up being a simple community cop in Vancouver, British Columbia. A regret that she only recently thinks about as the Doctor analysis the sample.

"Its just dirt…isn't it?" Andrea questions.

"No my dear. This isn't just dirt." He says with a serious note. "It's cellular residue. And it's human."

"Human? Wait…wait…how do you know that's human residue?"

"The texture and smell…having seen it so many times I know what it looks like…even smells like after it breaks down." The Doctor explains. "Whoever this poor person was…it seems they met with a very nasty way to go."

Megan turns around after hearing that in the distance and folds her arms over as she gazes at him with inquisitive eyes.

"You mean…someone was killed here? By what? What could do that to a human body?"

The Timelord taps the pen against his hand as he continues to think and explain at the same time to her.

"You've seen laser fire haven't you? You know how a body looks after being struck right?"

She nods and continues to listen.

"This was done by just that. Only much more alien in origin. It didn't just simply vaporize the man…no, no…this tore him from the inside out and destroyed all of his cellular matter in matter of seconds. It's a barbaric sort of weapon…one I've only seen before, by only one species."

"Which species?" Megan asks.

"Daleks." The Doctor states.

Andrea's eyes grow wide as he utters the name. "Daleks? Here? How could they be here?"

"I'm not so sure that they were." The Doctor says pacing between the two women frantically. "There was to be an invasion by the Daleks around this time…but timelines have changed somehow. Perhaps that's what's worrying the Timelords. You know, it's odd…but there's just a slight difference in the texture of this residue…almost as if it was combined with another form of weapon."

Andrea shakes her head as she shivers. "I'm just creeped out by the fact that you notice that sort of difference."

The Doctor gives a slight chuckle and stands in front of her. "You shouldn't be…after all we've been though. Besides, I think you like my differences."

Andrea smiles at him with that coy look that anyone with a crush might, Megan notices Andrea's expression and rolls her eyes. Clearing her throat, she tires to change the subject.

"So…what are you saying Doctor? There's more then one old enemy here? What…are the Cybermen here too?"

The Doctor spins around and shakes his head negatively.

"Not that I can tell…but…it could very well be couldn't it? Odd that this sort of thing would be happening in this place and in this time. I think I should make a trace of the temporal energy and see if it's coming from somewhere else."

As the Doctor kneels back down on the ground, he takes out the odd handheld device again and fiddles with the controls as he scans. Andrea hovers over him and looks down at the electronic gizmo as she tires to make sense of the odd looking graphics on the display. Megan just watches them both from the distance and sighs. But suddenly from behind her, a pair of gloved hands reaches out and prepares to snag her. Slowly and steadily, the mysterious person catches Megan off guard and covers her mouth as she tires to scream.

Megan stuggles with the person as she is dragged into the shadows, beyond the sight of the Doctor and Andrea who aren't even looking her way. Suddenly the attacker begins to whisper into her ear as she continues to break free from the uncomfortable position.

"Shhhh…ho there missy. Easy does it now."

The unmistakeable voice was that of a man, deep and welsh sounding, the man tried to calm her down as he kept her locked in his grip.

"What are you doing here? Who is that your with then now?"

Megan tried to speak but the man's massive hand blocked her voice from being heard. The attacker gave a slight chuckle as he realized he was preventing her from answering his questions.

"Right. Here's the deal then girl. Just tell me by nodding yes or no…ok?"

Megan agreed and nodded nervously.

"Good. Are you from UNIT?"

She shook her head negatively.

"Well, I take it your not the police then. Dressed like that I wouldn't think so. Am I right?"

The woman again agreed with his reasoning.

"Ok, now we're getting somewhere." The man smiled as he now exposed his face to her. "You're not from UNIT and you're not the cops…so I have to assume you're from the military."

Megan gave a confused look. She wasn't sure how to answer him at all, but rather then stay there with her mouth covered, she nodded that they were military in order for him to release her from the painful grip. The man pursed his lips and gave it a momentary thought.

"I don't think so. You see…I'm from the military…and I don't remember getting a messege about the likes of you three."

Megan had enough of this guy. With one full kick of her heel into his crotch, the man collapsed like jelly as the pain overwelmed him. Megan screamed for the Doctor as she ran out and warned them.

"Doctor! RUN!"

The Timelord quickly rose to see her running over and noticed the limping man trying to catch up. Andrea saw a weapon coming out of the man's pocket as he pulled it out and pointed at them. Her police instincts kicked in as she pulled Megan over and sheilded them all with her body. The Doctor quickly reacted to Andrea's sense of duty and simply stepped around her as she protest his course of action.

"What are you doing? Doctor!"

"Easy Andrea…I'm just going to talk."

"Stay Back!" The man shouted and aimed the gun at him.

The Doctor raised his hands and stopped inbetween him and the companions. Giving a glaring eye and watching the struggling attacker carefully, the quirky Timelord tries to reason with the fellow.

"Ok…will do." He smiles as he still keeps his hands up. "Just one question…who are you and do you have to point that thing at me? Sorry…that's actually two questions isn't it? Oh damn…that's a third one…"

"Shut up!" The man yelled again. "I'm asking the questions here."

"Right…fire away. The questions I mean…and not that gun. Obviously."

Shaking the gun nervously at them all, the man keeps his sights set on the Doctor as he steps closer to him.

"Who are you? You're not members of UNIT…nobody from there dresses like you three. Give me your names!"

"Well…" The Timelord suddenly says as he lowers his arms and grins joyfully. "I'm called the Doctor. Behind me here is Megan and Andrea…they're just companions of mine…rather nervous it seems because of you waving a gun at them and looking like you'll pull the trigger at any given time."

"What? Doctor? Doctor who?" The man quickly twitches his head inquizitivly. "Stop wasting my time and tell me your name for heaven's sake."

"Uh…well…it is just Doctor really." He mutters under his breath. "Although, I have been known to go under the name of John Smith. But…that was rather a long time ago."

The nervous gunman looks at the timelord again as if he's trying to remember the name. A quick glance at Andrea and Megan makes him slowly lower the gun and looks back at the Doctor again.

"Wait…wait a sec. You're just called…the Doctor, right?"

"Yes, that's right." The Timelord nods.

"Do you travel in…in a blue police box?"

The Doctor looks surprised at the man's question and smiles again to keep the mood light.

"I suppose I do. And before you ask…yes…it is called a TARDIS. Does that clear everything up for ya?"

The nervous man gives a slight smirk and puts his gun back into his holster.

"I didn't think you even exsisted. I mean…we were told to remember the details…but…the Major was right."

"Major?" The Doctor inquires. "And which Major would this be?"

A screech of tires in the distance causes the man to run past them and peer around the street corner. Both women approach the Timelord with curiousity and stare at the man acting odd.

"You don't think he might be an escaped mental patient do you?" Megan says to him.

"Highly unlikely my dear." The Doctor snickers.

"Ok…then just your usual everyday street nut then." Andrea adds.

"In London?" The Doctor says to her as he raises his eyebrow. "With a gun and wearing a camoflague suit? Must be a very organized bunch of street nuts to have all that on them."

The skiddish man turns around after the car passes and gives them all a worried glare.

"Look…I don't have time to explain. You have to just trust me, I was told to be on the look out for you. The Major can explain everything once we meet back at HQ. Please come with me Doctor, you're not safe…none of us are."

The Timelord studies his face as he looks beyond the man's fear and notices certain truths behind his eyes. Nodding in agreement, the Doctor grabs hold of both Andrea and Megan as he turns to follow the man already walking away.

"Wait…Doctor!" Megan grumbles as she is being wisked away by the Timelord. "You're just going to follow him? Just like that?"

"Yep."

Andrea rolls her eyes as they both try to keep pace with him as he pulls them along swiftly.

"Doctor knows best I suppose." She says with a bit of humor.

As they reach the end of the allyway, the nervous man takes out a small remote device from his pocket and clicks on the button. A roar of an engine sounds in the lane as a pair of bright headlights glare at them all suddenly. They hadn't noticed the car sitting there in the dark until he started it up, the vehicle looked like a smaller version of a Hummer, only this one was much more streamlined and dark green in color. The man opened the doors and helped the Doctor bring the women into the car.

"Hurry…we must hurry." The man muttered as he loaded them all in.

Megan hated being rushed like this and gave a sour face to the man.

"Alright! Alright! Don't push me! Ugh…what's a matter?"

As they closed the doors and sat inside the car, shadows appeared from the distance and headed straight for them. The man saw this immediately and reved the car as he frantically looked to switch out of park. The Doctor peered into the darkness and noticed the human shapes to them. Men dressed in dark black army gear and pointing weapons with green-lit targets at them.

"I take it they're not here to welcome us?" The Doctor muses.

"Oh god…It's UNIT!" The man gasps as he slams on the gas and speeds down the lane.

The black dressed soldiers open fire on the vehicle as it rushes towards them, dodging out of it's path, the car nearly hits them all. The lasers strike the Hummer all around and cause both Andrea and Megan to shriek from the explosions. With the damage doing very little, the car contiues past them and heads out into the open street. The soldiers run after it and continue to fire away in broad daylight. One of the soldiers comes running out and shouts at them all.

"Hold your fire! Hold your fire!" The man growls at them. "The Doctor needs to be taken alive not dead you idiots!"

As the men ease down and group back together, they remove their dark hoods and surround the main leader as he takes off his as well.

"Sir…we should go after them!"

"No…don't worry about it soldier." The caucasian man states as he rubs his short blonde hair. "He'll be coming to us in no time at all. Get the men and pull back to UNIT Headquarters."

"Aye, Sir." The soldier responds.

As they all dash back down the ally, the chisled featured looking blonde looks back down the road and snickers.

"We'll be seeing you real soon…Doc."


	3. Chapter 3

Swerving though streets like a madman in the bulky Hummer vehicle, the driver grazes by the few cars blocking its path. The Doctor places his hand on the wheel carefully and tries to ease the man down from his erratic diving.

"Ok, I think you've lost them. The Grand Prix of London is over now."

The gentleman lets out a sigh of relief and nods in agreement with the Timelord. Taking his foot of the gas slowly, he begins to relax in his seat and releases the wheel from his tight grip.

"Yes." He breathes. "Thank you. I'm sorry for rushing…I wanted to make sure we got you out safely, that's all."

Andrea and Megan keep their hands close to their belts strapped around them, the ride was pretty rough, but they weren't taking their chances by letting go now.

"Why are you in such a hurry?" Megan now shouts at him. "What's UNIT? What is so blasted important that you need the Doctor? Who the hell are you anyway?"

"And you say I ask to many questions." Andrea snickers at the Doctor.

The quirky Timelord turns around in his seat and tweaks her nose.

"And so you do. But give others a chance to ask them."

The young man looks at Megan in the rearview mirror and tries to give an answer to all her inquiries.

"My name is Sergeant Rodney Bellum. I was ordered by the Major to locate you as soon as your TARDIS signal came to Earth. We had a feeling you'd be here soon enough."

"We?" The Doctor says raising an eyebrow.

"The military Doctor. We've been trying to stop UNIT for years now."

"That brings me to my next question…" The Doctor says to Rodney. "Why is UNIT operational again? Your department was supposed to be part of the United Nations Division by now…one single organization for alien problems. I believe they were suppose to be called, UNITE."

"Isn't that just the same name?" Andrea questions him suddenly.

The Doctor looks back at her in a quick glimpse and tires to focus back on the Sergeant.

"In a way it is…but the added 'E' stands for Earth. I hope my dear Mr. Bellum that this is in fact the division you work for."

"No it's not." The Sergeant replies. "Look, the Major is going to explain everything to you. He seems to know a lot more about you, the TARDIS and everything else. I'm just doing what he instructed."

Megan looks out the window and stares at the city. Hard to believe to her this is London of the past. In her time, all the major cities across the globe are gone. These look strange and alien to her, like ruins of old, but even in her time there's nothing left standing to think that there ever was civilization in this part of the world. The Daleks and Cybermen have changed the very face of the planet; invasion forces, random attacks and planetary bombings have reshaped the very continents. Now she's back in time where humanity has yet to face such terrible dangers, it all feels surreal to her.

"Homesick? It must be pretty nice to come home after being in space all that time." Andrea asks as she takes notice of Megan's gaze out the window.

"No." Megan sighs. "This isn't home at all. This is someplace that was only a dream, not even a memory…more like a place that never really existed."

"But this is Earth." Andrea tries to affirm to her. "This is home. No matter what timeframe, no matter how much has changed, this is our home planet."

Megan remains silent as she continues to look at all people, cars and buildings pass by. Andrea continues to watch her even though she won't respond back. The former Canadian officer realizes that no matter how hard she might try, Megan will not admit to this being her home. At least not in this time. The Doctor wasn't paying attention to their conversation in the backseat. His mind was focused on the facts that UNIT is still operating and yet the other UNITE division was not. Things were not happening, as they should, to a Timelord that is very distressing to learn. He remained in his seat stroking his chin in thought; the high intellect of his mind trying to make sense of what had gone wrong or even what was supposed to occur. To break this confusion in his mind, he began to ask the driver other things that have happened of late.

"How long has UNIT been restarted sergeant?"

"Dunno really…" The military man says trying to remember. "Bout maybe five or six years ago? I remember the Major trying to explain what had happened as he gathered us all back into the military again."

"Ah…now that's interesting." The Timelord states. "Tell me more about that."

"Well, not sure how it happened really." The man says looking lost in his thoughts. "One minute we were set on handing over all operations to the Unitied Nations…then the next minute, we all got the sack from the Government. They told us that the world military armies weren't necessary anymore."

"None at all? How very odd." The Doctor says as he glares in the distance. "Yet a dream many worlds wrapped in violence have always yearned for. But this sounds much too fast to be happening for such a thing to take place…and in this time."

"What do you mean Doctor?" Megan inquires.

"UNITE my dear girl…that is what I mean. Its supposed to pick up where UNIT left off…this is not to be happening at all. No more military? No one to safe guard the planet…sounds rather suspicious to me."

"Nice play on words." Andrea snickers. "UNIT...UNITE...What's next after that? UNITED?"

The Doctor just gives her a disapproving glare as she shugs her shoulders at him.

"There's more Doctor." The driver says as he darts the car down a lane that leads towards a rundown harbor area. "UNIT has just managed to dissolve the UN completely."

"Impossible." The Timelord scoffs. "They don't have the power to do that…it's not even related to what they're about."

"As I said Doctor…I just know the facts…not the details. The Major can fill you in on that."

The car pulls up to a beat up looking old fishery building on the edge of the harbor. As he switches off his headlights, a pair of darkly dressed men come running out of the opening loading door and flash a blue light to signal him in. As their car pulls into the building, the two guards take a quick look around and follow in as the massive door shuts. Inside, the place is full of similarly dressed officers, vehicles and a small arsenal of weapons displayed all about. Megan and Andrea gawk at the site of it all and give a similar gulp of worry. They're not sure as to whether they've come to friends or encounter a new group of foes. The Doctor watches everything with great interest as he stares at the faces of the men and women gathered together in this fishery warehouse.

The car stops as more soldiers approach and greet the Doctor as he steps out of the vehicle first.

"Doctor." The middle officer salutes to him.

"Hello." The Timelord replies in a chipper grin. "I say…have they started the fox hunt yet?"

The three officers turn to look at each other in confusion. Obviously they are not in on the joke the Doctor is trying to make about their many weapons.

"This way please Doctor. The Major is waiting to meet you."

As the armed trio leads the Doctor and the others over to the far end of the building, they come to a stop where a section has been enclosed with green canvas tarp and one of the guards opens it slightly.

"The Doctor is here sir."

"Send him in Sergeant.' A muffled old voice replies.

The Doctor nods to the officer as he opens the tarp wider for him and lets the three enter the tent like room. The inside of it is full of pictures tacked to the canvas, images of the Unit soldiers, the headquarters and of satellite photos of the area. A small light hangs over the table sitting in the middle as the few commanding soldiers hover around it and looking at the Doctor as he enters. The quirky Timelord just nods to them all and smiles.

"Hello there! I'm the Doctor." He says to them cheerfully stretching out his hand for them to shake.

None seem familiar with him and he soon recoils his hand back to his side when he notices nobody willing to shake it.

"Uhmm…so…who's this Major I'm suppose to see?"

"It really is you isn't it?" The old voice questions.

The Doctor turns his head to right and notices an old man in uniform gazing at him with a big smile. A tall gentleman with thinning white hair and a mustache, his uniform appears tattered and has a green dark green beret buttoned down on his left shoulder. The Doctor peers at him as if he is trying to remember his face.

"Changed again have ya?" The old man continues to laugh. "I never could get the hang of that. I bet you don't even know who I am do you?"

"You voice has some familiar ring…" The Doctor says as he still studies his face.

"Don't you remember me from the old UNIT days? With Leftbridge Stuart always barkin' orders at me? Come on…It's me Doc! It's Sergeant Benton!"

"What?" The Doctor gasps.

"Come on Doctor…" Benton smiles at him. "I know it's been a long while, but even you manage to recognize me every time we've bumped into each other before."

The Doctor now dissolves his stunned face and begins to grin as he suddenly remembers.

"Of course Sergeant Benton! How good to see you old chap!"

The two shake hands and laugh as they give each other a quick hug. The Doctor steps back to have a look at the aged soldier and shakes his head with disbelief.

"My god the years haven't been kind to you." The Timelord quips. "It must have been that white hair and mustache of yours that threw me off."

Both Megan and Andrea stand there looking rather puzzled by the whole event the two men where having; Megan clears her throat loudly to get the Doctor's attention again.

"Hm? Oh I'm sorry…" He quickly apologizes as he brings the women around. "This is Megan and this is Andrea."

"Oy Doc!" Benton winks at him. "Still managing to get the best lookin' companions ain't ya?"

"I beg your pardon!" Andrea sneers at Benton with outrage.

The old man quickly tries to correct his typical male chauvinistic manner and addresses her in a proper fashion.

"Forgive me miss…I mean to say…uh, delighted to meet you."

The Doctor shakes his head again at the old soldier and pats Andrea on the shoulders.

"Don't mind him Andrea. Benton didn't mean to sound so rude…"

"Can we please get on with why we've been brought here?" Megan now moans as she rolls her eyes at this lofty reunion.

Major Benton nods in agreement and brings them over to his table with an old road map lying out.

"Right you are, Meagan. Time to bring you lot up to speed on our little revolt."

Pointing at the center of London where a large red circle has been penciled around a section, Benton looks up at the Doctor as he explains.

"You see Doc, this whole area has been completely surveyed by my small team, it seems UNIT has officially bought out this entire block surrounding the main headquarter building."

"Why?" The Timelord asks out of curiosity.

"We don't know." Benton shrugs. "We've been monitoring them for months now. They're bringing in all sorts of machinery and large shipments with heavily armed guards. Whatever it is…they've been using this entire area to keep them in storage or possibly for something else we just can't figure out yet."

"Doctor!" Andrea interrupts. "Does this have to do with the…the…thing that the Timelords sent you here for?"

"Yes…" The Doctor muttles in his mind as he keeps his eyes focused on the map. "Very much so I would think."

"The Timelords sent you here Doc?" Benton now looks at him inquisitively. "Why?"

"Because there is a large temporal displacement coming from that building." He says tapping on the middle of the circled area. "UNIT headquarters is generating some sort of energy far too big to go un-noticed by the Time Council."

Benton walks around the table and folds his arms together as he takes in that bit of news. Megan studies the map carefully while Andrea watches the Major approach the Doctor in mid-thought.

"Time Displacement?" Benton muttles. "What would UNIT be doing mucking about with time for? We've got no technology like that? Not even our resident scientists ever came into that bit of hard core business…"

The Doctor folds his arms back as he too thinks about it all.

"Not all is well with UNIT I fear dear Benton. Something irks me about all this too. This time we're in should not be as it should."

"What do you mean?" The Major quickly looks at him.

"Well for one thing…UNIT isn't supposed to be still around. And am sorry to say my dear friend…" The Doctor pauses and look up at him with a sorrowful gaze. "Neither are you."

Andrea and Megan look at the Doctor with surprise.

"Where's he supposed to be then?" Andrea says fearing the obvious.

"Dead I'm afraid." The Doctor states.

Benton was shaken with the Timelord's fact and unfolds his arms as he looks directly at the leather coat-wearing individual.

"Do you mind explaining that a bit more in detail Doc? I'm….I'm suppose to be….dead?"

"Yes." The Doctor admits again as he strolls way from him casually. "You died during one of the last missions UNIT ever served on, a nasty encounter with the Autons if memory serves."

"Autons?" Benton questions. "But Doctor….the last mission I went on…there wasn't any Autons…just…just a small meteor shower that resulted in everyday space rock."

The Doctor taps his finger to his lips and peers out into the unfocused distance.

"But that's not what happened. I was there…I saw you die. Or did I? Time is being corrupted…yet my memories remain intact. The Timelords were right…this is very bad indeed."

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Inside UNIT headquarters' black tower, the balding dark suited leader of UNIT works away on a data pad as Deacon enters his office again to report to him. The black officer salutes his superior and stands at attention.

"Welcome back Major Deacon. Well then…lets have it?" The suited man says as he continues to work on his electronic device.

"Sir." Deacon says as his cheeks flinch. "The Doctor got away from us."

"Yes Major…I know that…" The man grunts as he lowers the pad and walks over to his large black table topped desk. "I want to know why you failed in your mission."

"Yes sir." Deacon says clearing his throat. "The one helping him was one of those rogue UNIT soldiers that have been giving trying to hinder our operations."

The bald man sits behind his desk and brings his chair in as he lets out a disappointed sigh.

"Benton's men."

"It appears so sir." The Major replies.

"Have we been able to pin point his current where a bouts?"

"We're trying to sir…but…they…they know how to avoid…"

The irritated bald leader quickly glances up at him and shouts.

"I don't want to hear excuses!"

"No…no sir!" The Major says as stands rigid.

"Get out there…locate them! Find them! Bring the Doctor to me!"

The soldier salutes and sprints out of the room as the doors open and close for him. The balding man, leans back in his chair in an exhausted gasp and straightens his tie. Suddenly a loud chime sounds in the room that causes him to stare at the ceiling.

"Problems Mr. Fipps?" A muffled electronic voice asks.

Rising out of his seat, the man nervously clears his throat and gives a slight laugh.

"No, sir. Just carrying out your orders. The Doctor is here…but it seems that Benton's men are…well…"

"Interfering again?" The voice answers back to finish his thought.

"Well…" Fipps blinks. "Yes. But don't worry sir, we'll have him in no time."

"Do not bother."

"Pardon sir?" Fipps questions.

"The Doctor will come to us." The voice states. "He will see the problem and he will come to us here. You will allow him passage to your office and we will deal with him as he arrives."

Fipps moves around his desk and gives a curious gaze about the room. Staring back up at the ceiling, he once again clears his throat and questions the voice.

"Are you sure that's such a good idea, sir? I mean, we need to detain him and study him."

"Just do as I command Fipps." The voice now says in a bored fashion. "I do the thinking for this new UNIT…it is my new order not yours. I give you the luxury of commanding the men, but remember that this is my project. Don't forget who got you where you are today…Mr. Fipps."

"No…no of course not."

As Fipps returns to his chair behind the desk he sits down.

"How is it going by the way? Are we almost ready for it?" He questions again.

"In due time." The voice utters softly. "Trust me Fipps…UNIT is going to be long remembered once I'm complete."

The balding man smiles in a queer manner and strokes his closely shaven goatee with a fond touch.

"And the Doctor…will bring us closer to that dream."

"Indeed." The voice agrees in laughter.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

The Doctor taps away at a map pinned up against the wall of the green canvass tent. The circles around the main street where UNIT headquarters is on makes him glare at it with a determination.

"This is the building that shouldn't be."

"I beg your pardon doc?" Benton curiously asks as he stands on the opposite side of the tent with the others.

"This black building." The Doctor sniffs. "It's not part of the timeline...not in mine, not in yours, not in anyone's."

Andrea comes close to the map and folds her arms as she stares at it.

"Are you sure about that?"

"Absolutely." The Timelord says turning to face her. "This building is never mentioned ever…not in any time frame. And I should know…I'm a man in many places at once. And so too are the Timelords."

"That's why they sent you here." Megan states from her seated position beside Benton.

Holding a Styrofoam cup of tea and sipping it slowly, she begins to understand why they brought them to this point and time.

"It's a riddle they can't answer…UNIT wasn't meant to exist beyond it's merge to the UN. Yet it has."

"Exactly." He smiles at her. "But it's one I'm going to solve. And solve it I shall…right now."

As the Doctor begins to walk to the exit flap, Benton blocks the way and holds out his hands to stop him.

"Hang on a minute, doc! Where do you think you're going?"

"To the mystery…to the Tower…Rapunzel!" He quirkingly humors. "Mind you I don't think she'll exactly let down her hair for me to climb up…so I'll have to go the hard way I suppose."

Benton shakes his head negatively and continues to block the way.

"No, no, no…I can't let you do it Doctor. I need you here, I need the old scientist to help me and my blokes to take them down."

"And what would you have me do Benton?" He scoffs at him. "Make you weapons? Create a grand plan to break into the place? Take you all in the TARDIS?"

"Great idea!" Andrea squeals. "Lets get in with the TARDIS!"

The Doctor folds his arms in frustration and glares back at her with disapproval. As she notices his gaze, she quickly silences and sits over with Megan still sipping on her tea.

"The TARDIS will not be able to penetrate the energy surrounding it. I don't make weapons to kill and all the best laid plains in the world won't get you past the security in that building."

Benton gives a sigh and rubs his head from the man's stubborn answer.

"But surely there's something else we can do…tunnel under it, do an air drop above it…"

"Look ol' chap." The Timelord smirks. "You've known me for a long time. Have I ever let you down before…"

"On the few occasions I can remember Doctor." He jokes back.

"Well, yes…" The Doctor states looking away. "But this time…I know what I'm doing. Trust me, my friend. I have to go and find out."

Benton looks at him with a curious look. He then looks over at both Andrea and Megan waiting to hear his answer as they rise out of their seats. A few smacks of his lips and a slight nod, he stands aside and opens the flap for him.

"Ok Doctor. Go to it then. But if you don't come out of there within the hour…"

The Timelord pats him on the shoulder and winks.

"I know, I know. You'll come in to get me."

"Actually doc…" Benton snickers. "I was going to say we'll target the building with a bomb strike and take it down."

"Oh…well…" The Doctor says as he plops his hands into his leather jacket pockets. "Hopefully it won't come to that."

With a nod to the two women sitting there, he gestures to follow him.

"Come on ladies…onward we go."

The three of them walk out of the tent and down though the factory full of old UNIT vehicles and officers. As Benton walks behind them all, Megan slows down and keeps beside him. She suddenly grabs his arm and forces the old soldier to stop with her.

"Doctor!" She shows to the Timelord still walking ahead with Andrea.

"Yes?" He says back as he too stops. "What is it?"

"I'm not going with you. I want to stay with Mr. Benton here and maybe see if I can help them."

Benton looks at her and then the Doctor who's looking very concerned about that decision.

"I could use the extra hand Doc. But rightly miss, I don't know how you could?"

"I know more about fighting and how to improve your weapons." She states to him. "I'm also a qualified medical doctor incase you have wounded."

"Megan…" The Doctor begins to say as if to object.

"You don't need two of us getting into that tower…besides…" Megan eyes at Andrea. "I don't like being a third wheel. Alright?"

Andrea nods, as she understands. She had been rather jealous of Megan; she was attractive after all and intelligent. Something she felt the Doctor seemed to fancy in her. But Andrea clung to the Timelord's arm like a smitten lover and smiled at the chance to be alone with him again.

"Ok then." The Doctor sighs. "We'll meet you back at the TARDIS when all this is over."

"Right." Megan nods to him and looks at Benton.

The old Major just gave her a wink and pointed at the Doctor.

"I'll take good care of her Doc. Just make sure you get in and find out what their up too. But don't start anything without us."

"My dear Mr. Benton." The Doctor smiles in a great toothy display. "I wouldn't dream of doing anything rash without you there."

Benton let out a great laugh and walked away with Megan as he led her back to the tent. The Doctor held out his arm for Andrea and she joyfully looped hers around his. They walked out of the building together in a unified step and headed towards the UNIT location on foot.


End file.
